


The Island

by ShinySherlock



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Denial, Episode: s03e01 The Empty Hearse, M/M, Prose Poem, implied - Freeform, mystrade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 11:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2386835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinySherlock/pseuds/ShinySherlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mycroft is an island; no goldfish allowed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Island

**Author's Note:**

> Written for tiltedsyllogism's album challenge; my song was "Crazy Love, Vol II" off of Paul Simon's _Graceland_. Lyrics [here](http://www.paulsimon.com/us/music/graceland/crazy-love-vol-ii) if you want 'em.

Lonely.

Lonely!

Mycroft Holmes was not lonely.

And if Sherlock really thought he ought go out and find himself a _goldfish_ \--well, then. His time in Serbia had damaged Sherlock’s mental state more than Mycroft had initially suspected.

Friends. Love. Sherlock counseling him on the benefits of a shared life.

What good had it brought _him_ , hmm?

Nothing but heartache. A yearning so keenly felt it could be seen all over Sherlock’s face, his posture, the way he let his eyes linger. What advantages had he derived from caring?

A split lip. A bloody nose. Third wheel status.

No.

He would continue on his own focused path, a path that had reliably brought him his position, his power, his influence.  And if that came with a certain level of . . . isolation, it was more than worth the cost. It was a price he paid willingly.

And if that price meant being alone--

If that meant not sharing his successes--

If it meant, one night, when a newly exonerated, very grateful detective inspector had come around

Had held his hand longer than a handshake required

Had looked at him with dark eyes

Had said, voice rough with Scotch and want

_How can I thank you--_

If it meant not seeing

Not hearing

Not _feeling_ \--

So be it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments always appreciated. <3  
> (And if you're looking for more to read, I made a [fic index](http://shinysherlock.tumblr.com/post/105509221665) of my stuff by category which I hope is helpful.)


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